Ice making apparatus



Sept- 1955 s. w. E. ANDERSSON 2,717,496

ICE MAKING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 10, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7 i P i 6 2%iii I 2X6 L/ 6L2 Q 2; wk we"? 4 g 1 a P l/ 7 5 5 3a T/Af Z Ala-+JNVENTOR.

67 :w/Z/#0fissoA/ ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 S. W. E. ANDERSSON ICEMAKING APPARATUS f ll Sept. 13, 1955 Filed Dec. 10, 1952 United StatesPatent 0 ICE MAKING APPARATUS Sven W. E. Andersson, Buffalo, N. Y.,assignor to Servel, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of DelawareApplication December 10, 1952, Serial No. 325,147

25 Claims. (Cl. 62-4) This invention relates to automatic making,harvesting, drying, and storing of ice pieces, generally called icecubes.

This invention may be considered an addition and improvement to the icemaker disclosed and claimed in my copending patent application SerialNo. 205,519,

filed January 11, 1951.

Briefly, my above copending application discloses an ice maker whereinan ice forming mold has a generally arcuate contour so that a piece ofice may be readily turned or swept from the mold by relative turningmovement between the mold and the ice piece. The ice removing action isautomatic, as is the filling of the mold, freezing, and loosening of theice piece. The ice piece is detained for thorough drying beforedischarge to storage. The automatic operation is stopped short ofdischarge of ice to storage, and remains suspended during the time thata desired quantity of ice pieces is held in storage. In the specificstructure disclosed in my above copending application, power foroperating the ice release and the control mechanisms is provided by ahydraulic motor which also measures and delivers a quantity of Water tothe ice mold for freezing. The dis closure of my above copendingapplication may be considered a part of this instant application and maybe referred to for a detailed description of parts thereof that arecommon to the two patent applications.

In accordance with the present invention, a geared electric motor isused for operating the mechanism that automatically removes the icepieces from the mold. This motor is of a type that stalls when a giventorque is applied to the output shaft thereof without burning out orotherwise harming the motor. As contrasted with a conventional motor,this motor is geared down from 3400 R. P. M. to approximately 2 R. P. M.For a detailed description of the construction and operation of a motorof this type, and for a description of equivalents of such a motor,reference may be had to my copending companion patent application,Serial No. 325,145, filed December 10, 1952.

The ice mold and ejector or conveyor mechanism used with my presentinvention is generally similar to that illustrated and described in myabove copending application. Further, in accordance with this invention,I provide control means whereby upon the freezing of the water in themold a circuit is closed to the stall motor by a mold thermostatwhereupon the motor turns the ejector mechanism through approximately180 degrees of rotation until the ejector mechanism contacts the icefrozen in the mold which stalls the motor.

Shortly after the stall motor begins its initial movement, a holdingcircuit is closed by a motor activated switch which maintains the motorenergized even though the original motor circuit be opened by thewarming of the thermostat or the opening of a stop switch, to bereferred to hereinafter. Simultaneous with the closing of the holdingcircuit, a holding relay is energized, which in turn establishesadditional circuits, also to be referred ICQ to hereinafter. The motorremains stalled until such time as the ice has been thawed free of themold surfaces by electric heating elements contained in the mold.

After the ice has been thawed free of the mold, the motor and attachedejector mechanism resumes its turn ing until such time as the ejectormechanism has completed 360 degrees of rotation from its starting point,which latter movement sweeps the ice from the mold. The motor actuatedswitch then opens the holding circuit to the motor and heating elementswhereupon the motor stops and the heating elements are deenergized.Simultaneous with the opening of the holding circuit, a circuit, one ofthe additional circuits referred to above, is closed to a solenoidoperated water valve whereupon the valve is opened and Water flows froma suitable source of supply to the ice mold. An electrode is located onthe ejector mechanism in a manner that when the water reaches thedesired level in the mold and contacts the electrode, a low voltagecircuit to a sensitive relay is closed, which relay opens the circuit tothe solenoid valve, thereby closing such valve and stopping the flow ofwater to the mold. The ice is held on the ejector mechanism and is driedduring the next freezing cycle, and is then discharged into an icereceptacle at the beginning of the next release cycle. A stop switchmounted on a motor actuated vane opens the motor circuit anddiscontinues the operation of the ice maker when the ice storagereceptacle is filled.

Also, in accordance with this invention, during a release cycle, exceptfor the temporary stoppage of the ejector by its initial contact withthe ice frozen in the mold, the motor and attached ejector mechanismmakes one complete revolution and is then stopped in the freezingposition by the cam-actuated switch on the motor shaft, and any furtherflow of water after a proper filling of the mold is prevented throughthe deenergizing of the holding relay. The electrode which causes thewater valve to close may be a stationary member or a part of the ejectoras shown. The electrode preferably contacts the water in one of the icecompartments at the rear of the mold, so that after the water valve hasbeen closed and the water levels off in the several ice compartments ofthe mold, the electrode will be somewhat above the water level and itwill not freeze into the ice with the next freezing cycle.

The invention, together with its objects and advantages, is set forth inmore technical detail in the following description and accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a wiring diagram for the controls for my improved ice maker;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the ice mold and ejector mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the ice maker; and

Fig. 4 is a top plan of the ice maker partly in section.

Referring to the wiring diagram in Fig. l, 10 represents the ice moldwith built-in heaters 11 and a high temperature limit switch 12. 13indicates the ejector, which is connected by an insulating coupling 14to the shaft 15 of a stall motor 16. A line voltage stop switch is shownat 17, and 18 is a mold thermostat with ambient temperaturecompensation. 19 is a switch operated by the output shaft 15 of thestall motor. 21 is a sensitive relay and 22 is a normally closed,two-way solenoid water valve having an inlet conduit 22a leading theretofrom a source of supply and an outlet conduit 22b leading therefrom tothe ice mold 10. The coil 21a of the relay 21 is connected, as shown, tothe grounded secondary 23b of a small stepdown transformer 23. Thetransformer provides a reduced voltage for an electrode circuit tosatisfy code requirements, and it also isolates this grounded circuit sothat the polarity of the supply wires L1 and L2 becomes immaterial.

The electrode or low voltage circuit proceeds from the groundedsecondary 23b of the transformer through the relay coil 21a to a contact24 on the front end of the ejector shaft 43, through the ejector shaftto an electrode 26 attached thereto, which electrode is temporarilygrounded through the water in the mold upon filling the mold. Exceptduring the filling of the mold, the shaft 43 is insulated from theground because it runs in plastic bearings and is connected to the motorshaft by the insulating coupling 14. The electrode 26 is welded orotherwise secured to the ejector shaft above one of the rear icecompartments of the mold as shown in Fig. 2. The primary 23a of thetransformer 23 may be connected between the supply wires L1 and L2, butit is preferable to connect it between the wire L1 and a wire leadingfrom an auxiliary holding relay 27 to the water valve 22 as shown. Theholding relay 27 includes a coil 27a and a pair of switches 27b and 27cconnected in the several circuits as shown.

Any suitable refrigerating ssytem may be used for freezing the water inthe mold. When the ice maker is applied to a compressor operatedrefrigerator, it may be desirable and advisable to prevent compressoroperation during periods when ice is being released from the mold sothat the mold heaters do not have to buck the refrigerating effect ofsuch system. A circuit is therefore provided for the compressor motorwhich is energized at all times except during the ice release periods.As shown in Fig. l, the compressor motor circuit is connected betweenthe wires L1 and CL2. From the wiring diagram, it will be seen that thewire CL2 is not energized or connected to L2 except when the switch 19is in the full drawn position. This occurs only after the ice has beenreleased from the mold but never during the release process. Should theice maker be applied to a heat operated refrigerating system, and shouldit be desired that operation of such system be interrupted during theice release periods, the heat source to the system may be controlled bythe circuit that includes the wires L1 and CL2. For example, the fuelsupply to a burner or the elec tric supply to an electric heatingelement may be controlled by the circuit which includes the wires L1 andCL2.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the ice mold 10 is shown in elevation with thestop switch 17 movably mounted thereon. Mounting plates 30, made ofplastic or other suitable insulating material, are attached to each endof the ice mold, as by screws 31. A pair of arms 32 are pivotallymounted at one end upon the mounting plates 30 by pivot pins 33, and attheir opposite ends, the arms support a stop vane 34. The stop vaneextends throughout the length of the ice mold at the left side thereof.The stop switch 1'7 comprises a conventional mercury switch 17a attachedto the front arm 32 by an adjustable bracket 35. A circular cam 36 iseccentrically mounted upon the front end of the ejector shaft 43, andupon rotation of such shaft the arms 32 and the attached switch 17 andstop vane 34 are raised and lowered.

An ice receptacle 37 is located below the ice maker to receive icetherefrom. The arrangement is such that the stop vane 34 is moved outand up at the beginning of a release cycle so that a previously frozenand dried batch of ice resting on the ejector blade may be dischargedtherefrom into the ice receptacle below the stop vane, and when thereceptacle becomes filled with ice, the stop vane 34 cannot return tothe position shown in Fig. 3, whereupon the the mercury switch 17a isheld open and the ejector motor is stopped at the end of the ejectingcycle and until such time as ice is removed from the receptacle and thestop vane falls by gravity to the position shown in Fig. 3. The ice mold10 is mounted in good thermal contact upon a freezing plate or shelf 38and is secured thereto in any suitable manner, not shown. The plate 38is cooled by a suitable freezing coil 39.

The ice mold 10 and ejector mechanism 13 are shown in detail in Fig. 4.The ice mold comprises an aluminum die casting that is adapted to restupon the freezing shelf 38. The interior of the mold is arcuate orsemi-circular in cross-section and is divided into a plurality ofcompartments by tapered transverse partitions 40. As shown, thepartitions are tapered from the left to the right side of the mold andare each provided with a slot or weir 41, as best shown in Figs. 2 and3. The slots 41, which provide for flow of water from one compartment toanother when filling the mold, are particularly shaped and located atthe right side of the partitions so as to allow the ice to be easilyswept from the compartments. Also, these slots provide bridge members ofice for connecting the individual ice pieces into a unit when removedfrom the mold. The inside of the end walls of the mold slant outwardfrom left to right. The ice mold is provided with an upstanding edge 42on its right side, and the partitions 40 are each provided with anupstanding projection 40a at their left side.

As shown, the ice mold compartments are larger on the right side of themold than on the left side thereof. With this arrangement, the icepieces, once they have been thawed free of the partitions and moldsurfaces, are readily turned in the mold and swept therefrom by theejector mechanism. The electric heating elements 11 are located in holesin the bottom longitudinal edges of the mold and the thermostat 18 islocated in an opening in the upper right side at the rear of the mold,as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3. During a freezing cycle the temperatureof the mold in the vicinity of the thermostat 18 remains around 32 F.,but this temperature drops quickly when the freezing is completed. Whenthe temperature of the thermostat falls to a desired low its electriccontacts close which in turn closes a circuit to the motor 16 and startsan ice ejecting cycle.

The ejector mechanism 13 includes a shaft 43 that is milled flat on itsupper side throughout a portion of its length, as shown in Fig. 2. Theshaft 43 is mounted for counterclockwise rotation in bearings in theinsulated mounting plates 30 at each end of the mold. A blade44'provided with a plurality of tabs or fingers 45, one for each icemold compartment, is welded or otherwise secured to the flat portion ofthe shaft 43. In order that the ice may be turned out of the mold andcome to rest on top of the blade 44, the ejector shaft 43 is located offcenter relative to the longitudinal axis of the mold, and in order toprovide for the upwardly projecting tips B that form on the top centerportion of the ice pieces A in freezing, the blade 44 is bent in themanner shown in Figs. 2 and 3. As an aid in removing the ice from themold and to provide only point and line contact between the ice and theejector, the tabs or fingers 45 are each provided with a pair of teeth46 at their outer edges. As stated above, the cam 36 which operates thestop switch 17 and the vane 34 is mounted on the front end of theejector shaft 43. The electric contact 24 is mounted on the frontinsulating plate 31] and is urged into engagement with the front end ofthe ejector shaft by a leaf spring 24a. The rear end of the ejectorshaft 3 is connected to the motor shaft 15 by the insulating coupling14. As shown, the coupling 14 is located in the rear wall 47 of therefrigerator in which the ice maker is located. The coupling 14 issurrounded by a wooden block 48 which acts as a guide and support andalso protects the insulator in the rear wall 47.

The ejector motor 16 is mounted in any suitable manner on the rear wall47 of the refrigerator. The switch 19 is actuated by a cam 50 mounted onthe front end of the motor shaft 15. The cam 50 is circular in crosssection and is provided with an arcuate notch, not shown, in itsperiphery. A lever 51 is pivotally mounted on the rear wall 47 of therefrigerator in a manner that one end of the lever rides upon theperiphery of thecam 50 and the other end operates the switch 19.

Whfll thelft end of the lever 51 is in the arcuate notch of the cam 50the switch 19 is in the full drawn position of Fig. 1, and when this endof the lever rides upon the circular portion of the cam 50 the switch 19is in dotted line position of Fig. 1. For clarity of illustration, thearrow showing the cam actuated switch 19 in Fig. 1, extends from theshaft at the rear of the motor. However, it is preferable that the cam50 and switch operating mechanism be mounted at the front end of themotor as shown in Fig. 4.

As shown, the conduit 22b that leads from the water valve 22 to the icemold is provided with an extension 52 that passes through the rear wall47 and discharges into a trough 53. The trough 53 passes through therear insulating plate and discharges into the rear compartment of theice mold. So that water will not be trapped in the extension 52 andtrough 53, and be frozen therein and block passage therethrough, each ofthese elements slopes downward toward the ice mold and each isconstructed of plastic or other heat insulating material. Also, theextension 52 is of much larger inside diameter than the water conduit22b. If desired, a drain connection (not shown) may be provided betweenthe conduit 22b and the extension 52. Such a connection is described andclaimed in my copending application Serial No. 325,146, filed December10, 1952.

During a freezing period all switch contacts remain in the full drawnpositions provided the receptacle 37 is not yet filled with ice so thatstop switch 17 is closed. Upon completion of the freezing, the moldthermostat 18 closes its contacts so that current can flow from thesupply wire L2 through the thermostat 18 and stop switch 17 and inparallel through the stall motor 16 and the heating elements 11 of themold to the supply wire L1. The motor then starts, the previous icebatch on top of the ejector is thrown off into the ice receptacle 37 andthe heaters 11 begin warming up the mold. Soon after the start of themotor, the cam-actuated switch 19 snaps to the dotted position toprovide a by-pass or holding circuit around the thermostat 18 and thestop switch 17 to maintain the motor and heater circuits closed eventhough both of the switches 18 and 17 may open. This switching actionestablishes also a third circuit from L2 through the switch 19 and thecoil 2% of the holding relay 27 to L1. The relay 27 then closes itsswitches 27b and 270, which has no immediate effect except that anothercurrent path is provided from L2 through the switch 21b of the sensitiverelay 21 and the switch 27b of the holding relay 27, which is connectedto the coil 27a of this relay. The other end of the coil 27a isconnected to L1.

The motor and attached ejector mechanism continues to turn until theejector fingers contact the ice frozen in the mold whereupon the motoris stalled. The

motor then remains stalled until the heat applied by the heatingelements 11 has loosened the ice in the mold so that the turningmovement is resumed. The high temperature switch 12 is a thermostaticdevice which opens the heater circuit at about 100 F. and opens only inthe event that the mold heaters are energized too long due to somethinghaving gone wrong with the controls. Upon completion of one revolutionof the motor, the cam-actuated switch 19 snaps back to the full-drawnposition, which shuts off the heaters and stops the motor with theejector in the normal or freezing position shown in Fig. 2. The holdingrelay 27 remains, however, energized due to the holding circuit whichwas established previously from L1 through the coil 27a through theswitch 27b of the relay 27 and through the switch 21b of the relay 21 toL2. As a result, current can flow from L2 through the switch 19 and theswitch 270 of the relay 27 to the water valve 22 and to L1, but alsothrough the primary 23a of the transformer to L1. The water valveconsequently opens to admit water through conduit 22b to the ice mold.

When the rising water level in the mold reaches the electrode 26, therelay 21 becomes energized momentarily so that its switch 21b opens.This breaks the circuit which has held the relay 27 energized so thatboth the water valve 22 and the transformer 23 are deenergized due tothe opening of the switches 27b and 270 of the holding relay 27. Itshould be noted that it now is impossible for these switches to closeagain until the motor-actuated switch 19 moves to the dotted position atthe beginning of the next release cycle. The transformer 23 is onlyenergized, as described, when the water valve 22 is open so that theejector or whatever electrode arrangement is used does not carry anyvoltage, however low, except during the short filling periods. Also, asshown in Figs. 1 and 2, the electrode 26 is located on the ejector bladeabove one of the rearmost mold compartments, preferably the secondcompartment from the rear of the mold. With this arrangement, as themold is being filled with water, the water level will be higher in thiscompartment than in the forward compartments so that after the watervalve 22 is closed the water will flow through the weirs 41 andestablish a common level in the mold leaving the electrode 26 above thesurface of the water so as not to be frozen into the ice with the nextfreezing cycle. The lowering of the water level in the mold compartmentdirectly beneath the electrode 26 opens the low voitage or electrodecircuit. From this it is seen that the low voltage circuit is closed orenergized only during the time that the water in the mold compartmentdirectly beneath the electrode 26 is in contact with this electrode,which is immediately before the water valve is closed near the end ofthe filling cycle.

During an ice release operation, as the fingers 45 on the ejector bladepass through the mold compartments and sweep the ice therefrom, theteeth 46 on the outer corners of the fingers bite into the surface ofthe ice and bring the ice to rest in an upside-down position for dryingon top of the ejector, as shown in Fig. 2. The edge 42, along the upperright side of the mold, aids in this movement. It is to be noted thatthe surface of the ice that contracts the ejector blade is dry when theice is swept from the mold-this being the top surface during the thawingand therefore not wetted by the thawing-and the ice does not stick tothe ejector during the drying period of that batch of ice, which is thefreezing period of a subsequent batch. However, should there be someadhesion between the ice and the ejector, as by an accumulation of frostdue to prolonged standing, the bond between the ice and the ejector isreadily broken at the beginning of the next release cycle. That is,since the mold compartments are tapered from left to right, as viewed inFigs. 2 and 4, the left bottom surface of the ice in the upside downposition is of greater extent than the spacing of the partitions 40 andof the projections 46a on the left side of the mold. Therefore, at thebeginning of a release cycle the left bottom surface of the iceparticles, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3, will contact the projections 40awhich causes the ice to be stripped or pealed from the ejector and beguided into the receptacle 37 located therebelow. The projections 40amay be omitted; in which case, the left bottom surface of the ice willcontact the left upper portions of the partitions 40 and the ice will bestripped from the ejector, as before.

Without further description it is thought that the features andadvantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled inthe art to which this invention appertains, and it will, of course, beunderstood that changes in form, proportions and minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of theinvention and scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an automatic ice maker, an ice mold, means for filling the moldwith water, means for freezing the water,

means for removing the ice from the mold, and means for controlling thefilling and removing means, said control means including a plurality ofelectric circuits having a first switch therein movable to a firstposition for energizing the removing means and movable to a secondposition for deenergizing the removing means and for energizing thefilling means, and said plurality of circuits including a first relaycircuit having a holding relay therein that is energized when the firstswitch is in the first position and which holding relay is connected insaid plurality of circuits in a manner as to remain energized when thefirst switch is moved to the second position.

2. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 1 wherein said firstrelay circuit includes a parallel circuit connected to the relay'coil ina manner to hold the coil energized even though the first relay circuitbe deenergized.

3. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 2 wherein the parallelrelay circuit includes a pair of switches, one of which is operated bythe holding relay coil and the other of which is operated responsive tothe filling of the ice mold.

4. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 3 wherein said pluralityof circuits includes a low voltage circuit that is energized by thefilling of the ice mold and opens the parallel circuit to the holdingrelay to thereby cut off the flow of water to the mold.

5. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 1 wherein the freezingmeans is deenergized by the first switch when in the first position andis energized when the first switch is in the second position.

6. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 1 which includes meansfor thawing the ice free of the mold and wherein such means is energizedand deenergized by the first switch when in the first and secondpositions, respectively.

7. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pluralityof electric circuits includes a low voltage circuit that is energizedonly when the ice mold is being filled with water.

8. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 1 that includes astorage receptacle for receiving ice from the removing means, andwherein the control means includes mechanism for deenergizing the iceremoving means responsive to the accumulation of ice in the storagereceptacle.

9. In an automatic ice maker, an ice mold, a conduit having a watervalve therein for filling the mold, refrigerating means for freezing thewater inthe mold, heating means for loosening the ice in the mold,conveyor means for removing the ice from the mold and control means forenergizing the filling, refrigerating, heat-ing and conveying means saidcontrol means including a plurality of electric circuits having switchestherein, said electric circuits including a first circuit having aswitch therein operative responsive to the formation of ice in the moldfor energizing the conveyor and heating means, a second electric circuithaving a switch therein movable to a first and a second position by theconveyor means for energizing and deenergizing the conveyor and heatingmeans independently of the switch in the first circuit, a third electriccircuit for energizing the water valve, and a fourth electric circuitfor energizing the refrigerating means.

10. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 9 wherein saidplurality of electric circuits includes a fifth electric circuit, asixth electric circuit and a holding relay for opening and closing saidfifth and sixth circuits.

11. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 10 wherein said relayis energized when the switch in the second circuit is in position toenergize the conveyor.

12. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 11 wherein the relay isconnected .to the plurality .of circuits in a manner to hold the relayenergized even though the switch in the second circuit be in position todeenergize the conveyor.

7 13. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 12 wherein one of thecircuits containing the relay is deenergized responsive to the fillingof the mold.

14. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 13 wherein one of saidplurality of circuits is a low voltage circuit that is energized by thefilling of the ice mold.

15. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 14 wherein the lowvoltage circuit contains a sensitive relay for deenergizing the holdingrelay and for closing the water valve.

16. In an automatic ice maker, an ice mold, means including a valve forfilling the mold with water, refrigerating means for congealing thewater in the mold, means including an electric motor for removing theice from the mold and control means for the water valve and the electricmotor, said control means including a first electric circuit that isclosed by the formation of ice in the mold for energizing the motor, asecond electric circuit closed by rotation of the motor for continuingthe motor energized through 360 of rotation from the starting point eventhough the first circuit be opened, a relay circuit energized by saidsecond circuit, a holding relay in said relay circuit, a third circuitfor holding the relay energized even though the second circuit beopened, means for opening the second circuit at the end of 360 ofrotation of the motor, a fourth circuit including means for opening thewater valve when the second circuit is open, and means responsive to thefilling of the mold for deenergizing the holding relay and closing thewater valve.

17. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 16 wherein therefrigerating means is deenergized by the closing of the second circuitand is energized by the opening of such circuit.

18. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 16 wherein the meansfor deenergizing the holding relay includes a low voltage circuit havinga sensitive relay therein and wherein said sensitive relay is energizedresponsive to the filling of the ice mold.

19. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 18 wherein the lowvoltage circuit includes an electrode that is contacted by water in themold upon the filling of the mold for closing the low voltage circuit.

20. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 19 wherein the ice moldhas means therein for lowering the water therein away from the electrodeto thereby open the low voltage circuit.

21. In an automatic ice maker, an ice mold, means for filling the moldwith water to be frozen, means for freezing the water into ice, andmeans for removing the ice from the mold, said filling means including amember so positioned relative to the mold as to be contacted by waterupon filling the mold, said member being operable responsive to thefilling of the mold for discontinuing the filling and means in the moldfor lowering the level of water in at least a part of the mold wherebysaid member is free of contact with the water.

22. In an automatic ice maker, an ice mold, means including a conduithaving valve therein for filling the mold with water, means for freezingthe water in the mold, and an ejector for removing the ice from themold, said ejector having means thereon for opening said valve for flowof water to the mold, a member so positioned relative to the mold as tobe contacted by water in the mold for closing said valve, and means forlowering the level of water in the mold whereby said member is above thesurface of the water.

23. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 22 wherein said memberincludes an electrode mounted on the ejector for movement into and outof the mold, and wherein said electrode is stopped within the moldduring the filling thereof.

24. In an automatic ice maker, an ice mold, means for filling the moldwith water, means for freezing the water into ice in the mold, means forremoving the ice from the mold, and control mechanism for operating saidfilling, freezing and removing means, said control mechanism including afirst electric circuit having a first switch therein movable to a firstposition for energizing said removing means, a second electric circuithaving a relay therein energized by said first switch, a third electriccircuit connected across the second circuit and having a switch thereinoperated by said relay, a fourth electric circuit having a switchtherein operated by said relay for energizing the filling means, andsaid first switch being movable to a second position to open the firstcircuit and deenergize the removing means and to close the fourthcircuit and energize the filling means.

25. An automatic ice maker as set forth in claim 24 wherein said controlmechanism includes a fifth electric circuit for energizing the freezingmeans and wherein the fifth circuit is opened and closed by the firstswitch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

